Short relocation doubles business for Artisan Exchange

How crucial is location for a store? Moving just three blocks down Broad Street in Milford doubled business for the Artisan Exchange, according to owner Michael Gruodis.

JESSICA COHEN

How crucial is location for a store? Moving just three blocks down Broad Street in Milford doubled business for the Artisan Exchange, according to owner Michael Gruodis.

He recently bought the building constructed in 1903 for Amos Pinchot, brother of conservationist and Gov. Gifford Pinchot, and lately occupied by Geba Realty. Gruodis and his wife, Stephanie, are now two of 65 artists exhibiting work there, from hand-carved to high-tech.

Gruodis gave up his email marketing business after a wood lathe demonstration at the 2006 Festival of Wood inspired him to buy a lathe and make such items as bowls, pens and kaleidoscopes. On the wall behind the counter at his new location hangs the "root ball" of a horse chestnut tree that he carved and embellished.

"I spun it on a lathe and did some wood-burning to highlight the crack, like a lightning strike," he said.

Above on the wall is a woodsy scene cut from steel, the work of Black Cat Art Works in Greenville, S.C., a husband-and-wife team, Elaine and Bill Snell.

"She plots the scene on a computer. He takes the program to a computerized plasma cutter," Gruodis said.

Across the room is more high-tech art by Laura Byrne. The array of colors in her Fuzing Frenzie jewelry results from electron beams vaporizing cobalt, silver, aluminum and titanium sandwiched between glass sheets.

"She's been with us since the beginning," Gruodis said.

Elsewhere in the gallery, seven rooms with one opening onto another, art is made with older methods. Carvings of contemplative creatures — birds in foliage, a bear carrying a fish — are perched on a shelf by photos of their maker, John Sim, at work.

Gruodis said Sim grew up in Bali, where he had no electricity until he was 17. Farming was the prevailing profession, and people often carved in off-seasons. Gruodis encountered Sim and his work at an art show in New Paltz.

The gallery also exhibits paintings, photography, pottery, wood flowers, crocheted scarves and a rack of children's aprons made by, among others, St. Vincent Stitchers of St. Vincent's Church in Dingmans Ferry. They make children's clothes from donated materials, and proceeds go to the church help fund, Gruodis said.

Gruodis' wife, Stephanie, also has a variety of creations in the gallery — children's ponchos in lively patterns, stuffed animals, fun fur scarves. The Gruodises take turns tending the gallery, so they each have time to work. They also expect to have art classes and one-artist shows in the upstairs gallery rooms.

Marie Liu, a member of the Artery Gallery across the street, who has prints from her whimsical cow series at the Artisan Exchange, said she likes having the gallery in the neighborhood, adding to its allure for art seekers.

"The galleries in town are trying to do cooperative advertising and revitalize Art After Dark," said Gruodis, referring to the second Saturday of the month, when Milford galleries are open until 9 p.m. and have receptions for new work.

Meanwhile, he savors the benefits of the gallery's move from 507 to 219 Broad St.

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